Try To Live My Life
by KarieLuisaSaja
Summary: Rick has a hard time in life trying to juggle his mother's illness, the farm, and what happened in his past. The new girl to Mineral Town, Karie, is the only one who can help Rick, but she better do it soon.
1. Chapter 1 Reflections

Chapter 1- Reflections

"Rick, can you fetch me some milk and eggs from the store?" Lillia asked, leaning against the oak desk, frail as always.

"Yes Mother." Rick replied instantly, grabbing a few hundred G and dashing out. As usual, his morning was to be spent at the Supermarket, along with Karen. The rain poured down, and he had to run, arms above his head, to keep himself from becoming soaked.

A streak of forked lightning lit up the dark sky, and loud booms of thunder echoed loudly, startling Rick. Reaching the safety of the Supermarket, he ducked in, shaking his hair and wiping his glasses.

"Hello Rick." Jeff sounded as cheerful as the weather. Jeff's face contorted with pain. Unperturbed, Rick picked up a carton of eggs and a gallon of milk as Jeff ran out of the store, hand over his mouth. Lightning lit up the building, and the lights flickered, before going up. Darkness shrouded the building. Rick fidgeted nervously. This meant his mother and sister had no power either. What if something happened?

"Rick?" Karen's voice rang out through the darkness. A lavender candle flickered. "You're not thinking of leaving now, are you?"

"Karen, I have to! You know that my mother and Popuri have no power either. I can't loll around now!"

"Rick! You'll kill yourself getting home." Karen pulled up a chair, and with some more persuasion, he decided to ride the storm out here.

He and Karen sat in a comforting silence, the candle set on the cashier desk. Rick's memories drifted away to his childhood.

Hadn't anyone wondered why he acted so geeky? It was to fend everyone away. After that mysterious girl had crushed him, he had been afraid to get close to anyone. Her name was Jess, and she had given Rick every reason to fall in love. She was beautiful, animal loving, and she was the sweetest girl. Or so he had thought.

A few days before her family left to return to their countryside home in America, she had brought Rick to the Goddess Pond. She admitted to really liking Kai, who happened to be there when she was.

She told Rick she hated him, and she was the best actress. Worst of all, Jess had called him a chicken-obsessed geek. Crushed, Rick was afraid that anyone willing to get close to him was a fraud, and he had fended them off by playing a geek.

Only Karen had stuck close, being the one Rick spilled the story to after Jess had broken his heart. She had been there through the hardest time, and so Rick had relied on her.

The lights flickered again, and Rick stood up. "I'd better go home."

"Well, alright." Karen seemed reluctant to let him leave, but she let Rick get to the door before standing up uncomfortably.

"Rick, I-" She began, but she stopped. "Never mind." Karen looked down, and shifted her foot uneasily.

"I'll see you later then." Rick said, waving.

Karen smiled weakly. "Bye."

The rain was still pouring down, and the red brick road had flooded, leaving Rick to wade through. What had Karen wanted to tell him? They had never let something stay unspoken.

Making a quick stop to feed the chickens, Rick continued to ponder over what Karen wanted to say. It was obviously important if she had been uncomfortable.

"Rick? Did you walk home in the storm?" Popuri seemed flabbergasted at the idea.

"Yeah. You know I'm worried about Mom. She's looking worse every day." Rick pointed out.

"Well, I wanted to show you this." Popuri handed him the newspaper and showed him the front page. A picture of a blond girl winking and making the peace sign with a heading above saying, "**New Girl To Take Over Star Fields**". "Maybe she'll be our friend." Popuri suggested.

Skimming through the article, Rick's worst fears disappeared. Her name was Karie, and she was twenty. She used to live in the city, but after reading the MT Realtors ad, she had bought it. She had also attacked the mayor with a hammer once he explained that MT Realtors had stretched the truth. Despite that, Karie had gone and bought it anyways.

"So? What do you think?" Popuri asked innocently.

"I don't know." Rick said skeptically.

Popuri frowned. "Well I'm going to bring her cookies to welcome her to Mineral Town. She's arriving tomorrow." Popuri turned on her heel and went upstairs into her room.

Rick put the milk and eggs in the refrigerator, wondering if maybe he could trust this girl.

He would find out tomorrow.

The sun streamed through the second story window, blinding Rick as he stretched and got up.

"Rick!" Popuri called to him from the kitchen. As Rick treaded downstairs, yawning, he saw Popuri's "cookies".

They were black blobs of dough, burnt to a crisp, on a nice plate. Rick chortled. "I hope you don't plan on giving her those."

"No." Popuri blushed. "I couldn't find the recipe, so I tried to do it from memory."

"Lets cook Karie some brownies." Rick recommended. He overlooked as Popuri baked them.

At eight o'clock, they were ready. The sweet smell drifted through the house. Popuri sighed happily.

"Why don't you take them Rick?" Popuri asked.

"Well…" Rick couldn't really see a reason to not bring them.

"Just take them and say they're from us." Popuri demanded. Rick walked out the door into the morning light, and he walked nervously to Star Fields. So much could go wrong! What if Karie turned out to be a snob?

A girl approached him at the entrance to Star Fields. She blushed. "Um, I need some help unpacking. Would you mind helping?"

For some reason, Rick automatically agreed. "I'm Rick. What's your name?"

"I'm Karie." Karie led him to the small farmhouse. Rick helped her unpack, and then set up. Instead of being cool and collected as Rick thought she might be, Karie turned out to be quite forgetful, although her kindness and sense of humor made up for it.

"All done?" Rick asked her. She nodded, and glanced at her clock, munching on the brownies.

"Omigosh! It's past noon! I am so sorry!" She pleaded.

"It's okay. I actually had fun. It's Sunday, so as long as I'm back by one, it's okay." Rick consoled.

"You'd better get going." Karie urged. "I don't want to give you a bad reputation or anything."

With a wave, Rick departed, and returned home to a steaming mad Popuri. "Mom doesn't feel good, and you've being hanging out with Karie all morning!" She fumed.

"I'm sorry. Karie needed help unpacking. I'm not sure she can really live alone. She had trouble doing a lot of the unpacking." Rick laughed. "She's really nice, and she's funny too."

Popuri raised her eyebrow. "I have the feeling you're in love." Popuri gloated.

"Oh please. I just met her. I helped her as a friend. You would have too had you been in my shoes." Rick insisted. "Here, I'll go fetch Mom some Turbojolt, okay?"

Popuri sighed. "Well, make it quick."

_A/N: How is it so far? Too corny? Well, please R&R!_


	2. Chapter 2 I Owe You

Chapter 2- I Owe You An Explanation

The brick road had a dull reflection cast across it from the gleaming Spring sun. Rick was walking along the road, anxious, to the Clinic to purchase a Turbojolt for Lillia. There went another 1000 G. At this rate, by next Fall his family would be dangerously low on money, which would lead to more complications.

"Hi Rick." Elli said tonelessly from the interior of the dimly lighted Clinic.

"Hello Rick." Doctor came out, a look of concern crossing his face. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, Mom says she isn't feeling the best again." Rick replied lamely.

"Are you sure I shouldn't come to make sure?" Doctor asked. This was what Rick had been trying to avoid. He didn't like Doc too much, feeling he was trying to take his father's place in Lillia's life.

"No, she says she'll feel better with some rest." He plastered on a fake smile. "I'll take a Turbojolt please, Elli." He dumped the coins on the oak desk, and they clattered together.

"Thanks." Elli responded, handing Rick the bottle. "Please come again." Rick walked out quickly. Every moment wasted was another moment that his mother's condition worsened.

"Took you long enough!" Popuri whined as she snatched the medicine from Rick. She went upstairs into her parent's room.

Rick collapsed at the kitchen table. His watch beeped at him, startling him. "The mail." Was Rick's explanation.

Harris was outside, looking from the Blacksmith's to his house. "Hi Harris." Rick said brightly.

"Hi." Harris said testily. Shoving the letters in Rick's face, he turned and walked away quickly.

Glancing quickly at the top one, Rick saw it was from Karen. The next letter was from the Supermarket, saying that Blue Feathers were in stock.

Karen's note instructed him to meet her at Mother's Hill in an hour. It was a long walk, so Rick started now, deliberately making a stop at Karie's on the way there.

"Hiya Rick!" She squealed.

"Hey Karie. How's it going?" He asked, smiling.

"Well, okay. Farming is so confusing." Karie returned to attack a weed with he hoe.

"No! Try using a sickle for that." Rick took the hoe and handed her the sickle.

"Oh." Karie said, attacking the weed again.

"I'll see ya later."

"Thanks! Bye!" Karie waved. She was going to hurt herself with one of her tools soon.

As Rick climbed the summit twenty minutes early, he saw her with Kai. Popuri's friend!

"Okay? I'm officially breaking up with you-know-who today!" Karen clapped her hands.

"I thought you did it the day of the thunderstorm?" Kai said, confused. Memories flooded back to the stunned Rick.

"_Rick, I- Never mind." What had Karen wanted to say?"_ He stood up, walking into view. Kai's jaw dropped.

"Hello." He said, gaping.

"Hi." Karen said sheepishly.

"Hello. So, how long have you been deceiving me?" Rick yelled.

"Rick, I-" Karen began, but he cut her off.

"Don't. Why? You've changed Karen, and I don't like you. If you can't stop lying to me, the one you're supposed to like, then how can I stay your friend at all?" Rick asked, tears threatening to spill.

"Rick! You're a dork!" Karen exploded. She had finally found her voice. "I fell in love with Kai, okay?"

"You're just as bad as Jess." Rick said, before turning around and leaving. As soon as he was sure nether Karen nor Kai could see him, he ran home.

He pushed past a stunned Popuri, and even Lillia saw him run to his room, devastated.

Karen truly was just as bad as Jess.

Downstairs, the doorbell rang. Outside waited a nervous Karie. She wanted to talk to Rick because Gotz wouldn't let her buy an expansion, even though she had enough money and lumber. It was the last of the money she had brought from the city.

Popuri answered the door, poking her head out. "Hello." She said cheerfully.

"Can I talk with Rick please?" Karie asked politely.

"Um…" Popuri stammered. "He just ran up into his room and locked us out, but be my guest and give it a try." She opened the door wider and Karie stepped into the house, which smelled on scrambled eggs.

Following Popuri's instructions, she knocked on the door. "Rick?" She asked.

A grunt replied.

"What's wrong?" Karie tried. "It's me, Karie."

Another grunt. "Was it that girl from the Supermarket that you mentioned?" Karie guessed.

Silence. Karie had found her answer. "Let me in." She instructed. Rick, eyes bloodshot, opened the door wearily.

Popuri gawked from the first floor. Had Karie just convinced Rick to open up, when even she or Lillia hadn't been able to do? Karie was a goddess-send.

"Rick? What happened?" Karie sat at his desk chair.

"It was Karen, and she went along deceiving me when she really like Kai. I was wondering why he decided to stay all year." Rick said quickly, wanting to get it over with.

"Oh no!" Karie cried, gasping. "That's horrible!"

"I know." Rick said grimly.

"Can I help?" Karie asked.

"Give Karen a piece of my mind." Rick said jokingly. "Just kidding." But when he looked up, Karie was gone.

She had taken him seriously.


	3. Chapter 3 Piece of My Mind

Chapter 3- Piece of My Mind

"Kai, Kai, Kai…" Karie muttered as she wandered throughout the streets of Mineral Town. She hadn't been sure if Rick had been serious or not but she was up for the job.

In the back of her mind, Karie was wondering if Rick was buying her clumsiness act. Maybe it totally wasn't an act, but hey…

Karie strolled to the Supermarket. This was the girl, Karen, lived, but she had no clue on where to find Kai.

She walked into the Supermarket, jingling a little bell. "Hello." Said a man in a white shirt with black hair streaked with bits of gray.

"Hi. Is Karen in?" Either the man wasn't used to Karen having visitors, or she was in the wrong place. He jumped, looking nervous.

"Well, she had a run in with this kid she used to like and her new boyfriend, but they're down at the beach. By the way, I'm Jeff." Jeff explained.

"Thanks Jeff." Karie said politely, exiting quickly before Jeff questioned why she wanted to see Karen, or really, Kai.

What was wrong with Karen? From what Karie had gathered, Karen was just as bad as someone named Jess. But who was Jess, and what had she done? Rick had so much to work with, including the financial trouble approaching, his mother's illness, and an entire farm.

Karie could barely manage her farm, but she had gotten nervous and grabbed a hoe instead of the sickle. It wasn't that she was stupid, just simply nervous. Boys made her nervous.

Karie shook these and other thoughts out of her head as she stormed onto the beach.

Kai and Karen were sitting on the docks together, watching the sunset. They disgusted Karie.

She walked up behind them, standing there until Kai turned around.

"Why hello." He said smoothly, putting his tan arms around Karen.

"Hi." Karen said, giggling.

"Can I help you?" Kai asked earnestly.

"Yes." Karie said angrily. "You can apologize, for one."

"For what? Leave him alone." Karen said defensively.

"You…you just be quiet." Karie waved her hand at Karen curtly. "Kai, you knew perfectly well what Karen was doing, and you shouldn't have encouraged her to hurt Rick's feelings." Karie wondered how lame that had sounded.

Kai snorted. "That's what this is about? Him? Look, Ms. Karie, he ain't nothing but a dork and a loser. Nobody needs someone like him."

"Apologize." Karie demanded. "I care."

"Why?" Karen sneered. "Do you like him?"

Karie kept her eyes averted and her voice strong. "Friends look out for friends."

"Yeah." Kai muttered under his breath.

"Whatever." Karen said. She turned her back to Karie and so did Kai, both of them forgetting that Karie was behind them.

Rick had assumed that Karie had gone to the beach to find Kai and Karen, Popuri and Kai's usual spot. Just before he had left he had explained exactly what was going on.

Popuri had burst into tears. "What's wrong with him! I thought we had something special!" She had run sobbing to Lillia.

Karie had held pretty well on her own against Kai and Karen. He smiled. She had turned away, and was walking back across the sandy beach. Karie just missed seeing Rick, since he had dodged out of the square and had gone to the Inn, a nightly ritual.

At the usual time, Rick came home from the Inn, letting himself into the house and promptly locking the door behind him.

He went up to his room, but didn't go to bed.

Instead, Rick stared out his window absentmindedly. He had noticed that Karie hadn't been exactly clumsy when arguing against Kai. Instead, she seemed to know what she was doing, and had no doubts about it. He would pretend to have not witnessed the event and question her on it tomorrow.

But the longer Rick stared out the window, the more depressed he became. Popuri had no responsibilities, right? She barely feed the chickens more than once a season. But it was he who had to give up his social life, and anything outside of family and the family farm. Even Rod had left.

Everyone hated him, didn't they?

At Star Fields, Karie couldn't sleep either, but for another reason. She too, had worries preventing sleep, but they were personal. She had recently received a letter bearing news on her sister, Veronica, had a terrible case of cancer and might not make it to her seventeenth birthday in Fall. It was only Summer 5.

Karie wandered aimlessly outside in the moonlight, and ended up fishing to clear her mind. All she could think about was Veronica, and what she had to be going through. She began to hum a song her sister had taught her as a little girl, saying to use it to remember her by.

Rick was still in the same position he had been in for the past two hours. Finally, sick of his depressing thoughts and restlessness, he decided to be useful and check up on the chickens. What good checking on the chickens at two in the morning would do, he didn't know, but it was calm him, at least for the moment.

_First Dad, then Jess, and then Karen. Could things get any worse?_ Rick wondered.

Karie put away her fishing rod, still humming loudly, and sat down on the roof of the unused doghouse. She was swept away, not even thinking but humming the notes the same way she had when Veronica had first taught her, all that time ago.

"Good job!" Karie could hear her sister say. "Use that to remember me by, if anything ever happens." Karie had never remembered Veronica ever looking so serious, and the matter had never been spoken of again, but Karie would catch her younger sister humming or singing fragments of the melody sometimes.

_I've lost so many people._ Rick thought, petting one of the many chickens. "Some people say all you've got in life is family, but sometimes I wonder if that's true."

Rick was seated on the fence on the perimeter on the farm. He could see Star Fields from here, and he took the courtesy to glance over there for a moment, before he turned away.

And then he heard a stretch of music.

Karie stopped humming abruptly as she saw the position of the moon in the sky. "Drat." She said, loudly for the time of night. "I've got an early day ahead of me." She hopped off the doghouse and rushed inside, although the sleep never truly came.

Rick listened, mesmerized, by the beautiful melody he was hearing. He knew it stopped at around three, but he sat there, imagining where it could have come from.

"Rick? Is that you?" He blinked wearily, and he saw Popuri come out of the house, wearing her pajamas, and rubbing her eyes. "You're up early."

It was only then that Rick realized it was morning.


	4. Chapter 4 I Can't Tell You

Chapter 4- I Can't Tell You

"Yeah, I wanted to get an early start." Rick lied. But he truly wasn't tired.

"Okay." Popuri headed back to the house, presumably to sleep in. That girl had no responsibilities.

Rick quickly fed the chickens, and was almost done when Popuri came back out.

"Mom wants to know why you didn't go to sleep last night." Popuri inquired.

Rick was surprised. "I slept."

"Then who did Mom see on the fencepost last night?" Popuri asked slyly.

"Fine. I couldn't sleep." Rick said truthfully.

"Do you like Karie?" Popuri asked bluntly. "She's been here for almost a season now. Tomorrow starts Summer." She added.

"Yeah, Karie's my friend." Rick replied.

"No, _like_ like her." Popuri said, exasperated.

"Why do you ask?" Rick shot back a question.

"I dunno." Popuri shrugged. "I'm curious."

"Karie's my friend, Popuri." Rick answered firmly, and Popuri realized she wasn't going to get anymore out of him.

"Oh, and Mom wants a bottle of Turbojolt."

Rick exploded. "You do it!" He yelled. "I do everything around here, and you laze around and do nothing! That's why everyone considers you a child! You are one!"

"What's your problem?" Popuri began to cry. "I am not a baby." Rick snorted. "I am not! Why would Kai have been in love with me if I was a baby?" Popuri challenged.

"He wasn't in love with you! It was all pretending." Rick told his sister.

"You lie!" She accused.

"Then why is he currently making out with Karen? Because he's mistaken Karen for you?"

Popuri ran back to the house, crying.

Rick rolled his eyes. _I gave up everything for my mother. Popuri hasn't even lifted a finger. She's never gotten medicine or fed the chickens or spent a sleepless night at the Clinic. No, Popuri still is a child. It doesn't matter if we're twins. I'm five minutes older and a lot more mature._

Rick was about to go back into the house when Karie wondered onto the farm. She hadn't seen him, so Rick stayed hidden behind the chicken coop.

Karie was whistling a familier tune. She stood stupidly in the middle of the clearing.

"I wonder where Rick is." She murmured. "He's always here around this time."

_Why is she so nervous?_ Wondered Rick.

"Oh, do you think he even cares today's my birthday? I'm not going to tell him. Sure I care, but he's got more worries than my birthday." She muttered, and walked into the Poultry Farm.

Rick stood up, and made his first trip to the Supermarket since the other day on the mountain.

The bell jingled, and Jeff watched him carefully.

"Hullo Jeff." Rick said brightly. "I want to buy a gift for a special someone."

"What does she like?" He asked quietly.

"She's a good friend of mine, and she's quite the farmer." Rick answered. "I want a gift she can appreciate."

"Well, we have rucksacks and baskets and seeds." Jeff answered curtly.

"How much is the rucksack?"

"Depends on what size, the largest or the larger?" Jeff replied.

"How much are they?"

"The largest one is 5000G and the larger one is 3000G." Jeff sneered.

Rick had just enough saved up. "I'll take the largest one." He dumped the 5000G on the counter, and then had it wrapped.

"Thank you." Rick said as he left.

There was no reply.

"Rick!" Came a bright voice. Karie ran up. "I've been looking everywhere for you." She caught sight of the package in his arms but said nothing.

"I've been buying someone a birthday gift." Karie blinked.

"Whose birthday is it?" She asked, playing stupid.

"Yours." Rick said tentatively.

"How did you know?"

"A lucky guess." Rick grinned.

"Open it." Rick insisted, and Karie, embarrassed, unwrapped it, setting her rucksack aside. She still had the smallest size.

"Thank you so much, Rick." She hugged him. "This is awesome."

She smiled up at Rick, and then blushed. "I'd better get going."

She ran off down the road.

Rick still felt bad for lying to Popuri earlier.

_Maybe I'll apologize_, Rick thought.

_Well, maybe when she matures. _Rick laughed, and headed home.


End file.
